BANGALORE,
FEB. 5.
The Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, should ensure that fiscal deficit did not "get worse" in the coming months, trade and industry representatives said here on Thursday. The Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry said that taxes, which had not been increased in the budget, had been raised earlier by four per cent, including the recent infrastructure cess and road cess.

"The real cause for concern is the negative growth of the agriculture sector due to successive droughts," the Greater Mysore Chamber of Industry said. It welcomed the Rs. 100 crore fund to mitigate the effects of drought on farmers and the proposal to provide insurance cover to marginal farmers.